


Taming a Husband

by Silex



Category: Original Work
Genre: F/M, Fantasy, Humor, Monster Girl, Non-Traditional Gender Roles, Spotted Hyena Girl
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-17
Updated: 2019-02-17
Packaged: 2019-10-30 12:02:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,485
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17828186
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Silex/pseuds/Silex
Summary: Kiffy Notch-ear had decided that she wanted to get herself a second husband. It wasn't that there was anything wrong with her first husband, but there was nothing wrong with having two. In that the rest of her tribe was in agreement with her. Of course her wanting a human for her new husband was a different matter entirely.





	Taming a Husband

**Author's Note:**

  * For [captainellie](https://archiveofourown.org/users/captainellie/gifts).



Kiffy Notch-ear had made up her mind to take a human as her second husband. Her sisters all thought she was crazy.

 _Human men are too wild, too feral_ , they told her, _You’ll never be able to make a husband of one._

Even her first husband, Yarrow, wasn’t too fond of the idea at first, though he agreed that having a second set of paws to help around the den would be a good thing when she decided to have children. Mentioning that a human husband could be taught to hunt, as it was something they already did, when she was laid low with children had been what won him over.

That would be a very fine thing indeed, he agreed, good for both of them and any children they might have. It was in the nature of men to worry about children after all and, like her, Yarrow believed that the problems with human men all stemmed from them not having proper wives to take care of them. Kiffy had seen their women, pathetically small and meek creatures, hiding in their dens, staring out with wide eyes like frightened deer. A wife like that could never take proper care of a man so it was no wonder they ran feral.

So she waited patiently, biding her time until a raiding party was organized.

Her skill with a spear was unmatched, so there was no question that she would be asked to come along.

When the time came she and the women attacked in the night, for it was well known that humans were near blind in the dark.

While the others sought out human livestock and metal tools she inspected the men that rushed out to try and protect their dens.

It was a sad thing to see, men forced to defend themselves, but one that caught her eye didn’t do a half bad job of it.

He tried to fend her off with a stick topped with metal prongs, not a proper weapon, but some sort of tool they used in farming.

Kiffy knew that because human women never went hunting or banded together in raiding parties their men were forced to toil in the dirt to grow things to eat, but despite such neglect the man put up a surprisingly good fight.

For one so small and frail at least.

In the den an old woman, probably his mother, wailed for him to be careful, but made no attempt to protect her son.

Clearly she didn’t want to keep him so he was Kiffy’s by right.

Still, as a formality she howled a challenge to the woman, for it was a woman’s right to choose a wife for her sons and drive off those she felt were beneath her standards.

When the human woman retreated Kiffy closed in on the young man, knocking his improvised weapon aside with her spear each time he came at her.

The fight was short but intense, ending when she was able to get inside the reach of his pronged stick and grab it. Once disarmed all fight left the human, which didn’t surprise her. It was hardly in the nature of men to be aggressive.

The other members of the raiding party laughed at her when she showed them her prize.

How the human stared defiantly back at them made Kiffy certain that she’d chosen well. He had a lot of spirit, which was endearing.

Bringing him back to the den and introducing him to Yarrow went better than she’d hoped. Yarrow took a liking to him instantly, which was good. When there was no peace between wives there was no peace in the den, as the saying went.

Of course Yarrow had always been fond of dark fur and the brown of the human’s mane was so deep a color that it was nearly black, so there was that. Like most men there were times when Yarrow could be silly that way.

He was happy to take up the role as teacher, quite pleased with his new position of senior husband, while Kiffy went to see if she could convince some of her sisters to share some of the livestock taken during the raid so that she could have a proper wedding feast for her new husband.

A surprising number of them agreed, volunteering their husbands to help cook for, it under the provision that they would be invited to the feast. It was because they wanted to be there when things went wrong, but Kiffy knew that she would have the last laugh.

For the feast she would dress him up in a feather cloak, the browns and reds of the feathers all the more dramatic in contrast to his dark mane and his pale, near furless skin. He would look absolutely lovely, especially with Yarrow standing next to him in the finery of a senior husband.

Yes a human couldn’t drape a cloth mask over such a short, flat muzzle, nor did he have fur to rub yellow clay into, though they might be able to use the clay to paint his hide yellow. That would be impressive she was sure.

Returning to her den she heard Yarrow laughing, a heartening indication of how well they were getting along. Yarrow, darling that he was, could sweet talk the birds from the trees and had clearly charmed the young human man.

Or so she believed until she arrived at her den and saw the human looking mortified while Yarrow rolled on the floor, hardly able to breathe for laughing.

Kiffy looked back and forth between the pair, hoping some explanation would be forthcoming.

“He thinks I’m small!” Yarrow laughed.

The compliment was rather humorous given that Yarrow stood a head taller than the human, but it was still a nice thing to say, for Yarrow was a fine boned and delicate man, with his narrow muzzle and long, thin limbs. It was no reason for such an outburst though.

“Smaller than you,” the human protested, pointing at Kiffy.

Yes, she was deep chested, and wide shouldered, and considerably taller than both of them, but that was only natural. She was a woman after all.

Kiffy nodded, hoping that one of them would regain the ability to speak complete thoughts.

Yarrow snickered and rolled himself into a sitting position, “But that’s not all he said.”

The human glared fiercely at Yarrow, who responded by holding out a paw for help standing.

Ignoring the outstretched paw the human walked past Yarrow to look up at Kiffy.

She hoped that he wouldn’t try to fight Yarrow, as happened very rarely when men felt that they had something to prove. Mostly because as gentle as Yarrow was, he was still large enough to easily put the human in his place which would be a bad start to things.

“He says the raiding parties you send out to attack our village are all women!”

The human sounded incredulous.

“They are,” Kiffy said patiently, realizing that as a human he would need to be taught such basic things. Poor, feral dear, “It’s not right to put men in harm’s way.”

“That…” the human hesitated, brow furrowed in deep thought, “Means you’re a woman.”

Yarrow howled with laughter, blotting at the tears flowing down his muzzle.

“Yes,” Kiffy’s ears went flat as she realized the daunting task she had created for her and Yarrow. If such simple things needed to be explained to the human…

“He’s your husband…”

Yarrow nodded and Kiffy felt slightly heartened. The human was catching on quickly.

“My senior husband,” she corrected, watching Yarrow beam with pride at the distinction, “Since I won you by right of combat you’re my junior husband now.”

“He wasn’t joking,” the human’s voice was barely a whisper so that Kiffy needed to turn her ears to hear him.

“He might have been,” Kiffy offered diplomatically, “Yarrow can be silly. Jokes aside, he’s very patient and will be happy to teach you everything you need to know to be a good husband. You don’t need to worry about hunting or fighting any more. I’ll keep you safe and well cared for.”

“She will,” Yarrow agreed enthusiastically, holding out the necklace of tusks she had given him as a gift when she had first started courting him, “She’s one of the best hunters in the clan. Once she held her ground against a charging boar and lifted it off its hooves when it ran onto her spear!”

The human glared at Yarrow, who smiled, showing every single tooth in his mouth.

She was relieved when the human flinched back. If he understood one thing already, he understood his place.

The human fell silent, his expression thoughtful.

Kiffy could understand, it was a lot for him to take in, but she was sure that in time he would learn and be a fine husband.

**Author's Note:**

> Spotted hyenas are my favorite animals.


End file.
